Family Day: Creepy Crawly Critters
Saturday, October 5th
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Get ready for some Spooky Season fun at the Wyoming State Museum!
We’re filling the building with all the weird and creepy animals that people love to fear, and teaching kids and adults alike why we really shouldn’t be afraid. You’ll see bugs, reptiles, amphibians, and bats, and even take your photo with a real (but no longer living) alligator! Meet experts from the UW Biodiversity Institute, UW Entomology, Wyoming Outdoor Rec, Cheyenne Animal Shelter, and local exotic reptile owners. Plus, make your own creepy crawly crafts and participate in fun activities like flinging bugs and making homemade slime!
Family Days are generously sponsored by Scheels in Johnstown, CO. Thanks to their support, these events are always free and open to everyone!
Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration
Monday, October 14th
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Join the Wyoming State Museum for an Indigenous People's Day Celebration of Art and Science on October 14th, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Honoring the rich cultures and contributions of Indigenous peoples, this event blends art and science to highlight the complex ecological knowledge held by Rocky Mountain and Great Plains’ Native communities.
Meet Colleen Friday, a Northern Arapaho artist and ecosystem scientist, as she demonstrates her nature-inspired artwork. Engage in hands-on learning about ethnobotany—the study of how people use plants—with Wyoming State Parks, and create your own seed bombs to take home. You’ll also get to join a coloring workshop with artist Lauren Amanda Garrett, who focuses on increasing Native representation in fantasy art.
This event features live performances by world champion hoop dancer, Jasmine Pickner-Bell, and her family. Their performances will occur at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, and 1:30, showcasing the history and traditions of Native American dance.
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
Help out with the State Museum's busy fall season!
We’re heading into our busiest and most exciting time of the year! Come volunteer at one of our Fall family events and help us connect our community to the natural and human history of Wyoming. Any individual who is passionate about childhood education, families, crafts, and FUN should feel encouraged to volunteer. We welcome and appreciate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities!
Here are some of the opportunities we have in the near future. You can reach out to Melisa at [email protected] or 307-630-2573 to sign up.
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Family Day: Creepy Crawly Critters. Saturday, Oct 5, 9:30 am - 2:30 pm. Welcome, teach, and interact with children and their families as they enjoy a day jam-packed with spooky season learning and fun. We need volunteers to help make slime, guide crafts, play games, and check in guests.
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Halloween at the Museum. Sunday, Oct 27, 11 am - 4 pm. Every Halloween the Wyoming State Museum hosts a trick-or-treat event that is attended by hundreds of local families. Kids show up in costume to "trick-or-treat" around the museum, meeting historic Wyoming characters that are played by volunteers. We need all types of helpers at our check-in station, photo booth, creepy crawly critter walk, candy station, and we even need volunteers to dress up as characters and teach about Wyoming history.
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Family Day: Día de los Muertos. Saturday, Nov 2, 9 am - 2:30 pm. Our most colorful and cultural Family Day of the year is Día de los Muertos. Volunteers will help hundreds of kids decorate sugar skulls, make crafts, learn about monarch butterflies, and enjoy dance performances.
Each event has a role for any type of person, even kids can join in! If any of these opportunities sounds fun to you, please reach out to our Curator of Community Engagement, Melisa! You can email her at [email protected] or call/text her at 307-630-2573.
Wyoming Archaeology Awareness Month
New Lobby Exhibit on Display
It’s Wyoming Archaeology Appreciation Month, and our friends at SHPO and WUAR have installed a new exhibit at the museum!
This year is all about “People and Plants”. While plant and human relationships can be difficult to find in the archaeological record, scientists known as paleoethnobotanists are doing the work.
Come by to check out the new display showing how regional plants were used and processed. Don’t forget to pick up your free poster and brochure to learn more!
Sponsor Spotlight
Johnstown SCHEELS
Our friends at Johnstown SCHEELS have been a integral sponsor to the Museum since 2018. Their support has allowed us to keep our popular Family Day programs completely FREE to you, the public!
SCHEELS is located in Johnstown, Colorado about an hour south of the Museum. They specialize in outdoor and athletic gear while also providing a unique shopping experience with a fish tank, Ferris wheel, taxidermy mountain, and Gina's Cafe.
We've even been fortunate to help at a few of their events where we've met a few Wyomingites that also made the trip down! If you and your family are thinking of getting ready for the fall season, be sure to swing by the museum to pick up a coupon for a free Ferris wheel ride and $10 off your $50 purchase!
With SCHEELS support, we have been able to serve over 15,000 regional residents with programs ranging from the Great Outdoors to Dino Day to Día De Los Muertos. We have been able to provide 10 unique programs a year, adding new crafts, games, and activities for the whole family. Family Days has easily become our most popular and community driven programming, thanks in part to our partnership with SCHEELS.
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 Stay up to date on everything happening at the museum by following our Instagram and Facebook accounts! You'll get to see special looks into our collections, upcoming events, behind-the-scenes museum work, and more! Click the links below to follow us, or search our handle @wyomingstatemuseum.
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